Lots has been happening in regards to the search for the next president of the University of North Carolina system, with bickering and acrimony on full display.

To sum it up simply, it’s a bit of a mess.

A growing number of UNC Board of Governors members are publicly expressing their discontent with chair John Fennebresque, a Charlotte attorney, and calling for him to step down from the leadership role.

Then, House and Senate Republican lawmakers, who hand-picked all 32 members of the governing board, are now complaining the board is thwarting their desires by ignoring a bill (which hasn’t been signed and isn’t yet law) requiring the top three candidates for UNC job to go before the full board instead of just a single candidate.

And Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is chiming in on the growing public spectacle as well, saying he doesn’t like the new bill’s reach into the UNC presidential search and won’t decide if he’ll sign it until Oct. 30, the same day it would become law with or without his signature.

Oct. 30 just happens to the next scheduled meeting for the UNC Board of Governors, where they presumably could take a vote to choose the next president.

Meanwhile, the name of the top candidate has also been leaked, former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, despite great emphasis that the search would remain confidential up until the end.

Professors might prefer a president who has come up through their ranks, but these days, public-university boards see political experience as an asset. After all, dealing with the state legislature is a key part of the job.

Ms. Spellings has political connections and a national profile without the baggage of someone who’s held or run for office, said Donald E. Heller, dean of Michigan State University’s College of Education. The board probably sees her as someone who could forge relationships between the system and the state legislature. And, he added, they may think Ms. Spellings could offer stability to a system that’s had more than its share of recent turmoil.

“I don’t think she would be seen as a polarizing figure,” Mr. Heller said.

At the department, Ms. Spellings was known for pushing accountability, he added. A system head, on the other hand, advocates for the institution, and “in many cases that means pushing against intrusion from the federal government.”

But that doesn’t mean leading the system wouldn’t allow Ms. Spellings to sustain her accountability push, Mr. Heller said. Another part of the role is holding the system’s campuses accountable.

States are divesting from higher education, noted Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, who served on the Spellings Commission. That means public-college leaders have to ask for more support. “I’d think of Margaret as a very able advocate and somebody who could navigate the politics of a state legislature,” Ms. Haycock said. Part of that, she added, means knowing that in return for resources, state leaders will expect results.

One Comment

Marta Heflin

October 24, 2015 at 1:32 pm

With all the qualified academics out there, some with MBAs and extensive administrative experience, this makes no sense. She has no graduate degree and is a political hack.
You have to wonder what is going on behind the political agendas, whether it is money or sex. Whatever the case, it bodes ill for a once prestigious university, which already was on the decline.